1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the reduction of noise and vibration in automobiles, and, more particularly, to a sound baffle installed in the engine compartment of a vehicle.
2. Background of the Invention
Sound baffles have been used in automotive passenger compartment areas in the past to reduce the transmission of sound from the highway and from the automotive transmission into the passenger compartment for the comfort and convenience of the occupants thereof. Typically, such sound baffles are positioned within pillars formed in the automobile chassis to attenuate sound transmission therethrough. An example of such a chassis sound baffle can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,382,635, issued on May 7, 2002. The baffle is formed with thermally expandable sealing material that is positioned within a cavity formed by the chassis pillar or rail walls.
It would be desirable to provide a sound attenuating device at the front sheet metal of an automotive chassis to reduce the noise from the engine that would be transmitted into the passenger compartment through the chassis structure.
It is an object of this invention to provide a sound baffle associated with the front end sheet metal of an automobile chassis.
It is another object of this invention to reduce the engine noise transmitted into the passenger compartment of an automobile.
It is a feature of this invention that the noise level in the passenger compartment of an automobile is reduced by the use of a sound baffle at the front end sheet metal of the chassis.
It is an advantage of this invention that the occupants of the passenger compartment of an automobile are subjected to reduced noise levels from the engine.
It is still another object of this invention to provide a sound baffle structure that can be easily attached to the sheet metal at the front end of an automotive chassis.
It is another feature of this invention that sound absorbing material is positioned between the sheet metal of the automotive chassis and a backer plate.
It is still another feature of this invention that the sound baffle can be attached to the sheet metal structure by non-metallic push pins.
It is another advantage of this invention that the sound baffle can be installed in the desired location easily.
It is still another advantage of this invention that the sound absorbing material operates to dampen the vibrations being transmitted through the sheet metal at the forward, engine compartment of an automobile chassis.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a sound attenuating apparatus formed from a layer of sound absorbing material affixed to a rigid backing material to provide structural support for attachment to the chassis of an automobile.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a sound baffle for the engine compartment of an automobile chassis that is durable in construction, inexpensive of manufacture, carefree of maintenance, facile in assemblage, and simple and effective in use.
These and other objects, features and advantages are accomplished according to the instant invention by providing a sound baffle affixed to the sheet metal at the engine compartment of an automobile chassis. The sound baffle is formed of a layer of sound absorbing material affixed to a rigid backing material manufactured from metal, plastic or other rigid material to provide structural support for attachment of the sound baffle to the sheet metal chassis structure. The sound baffle can be affixed to the sheet metal of the engine compartment by non-metallic push pins to provide an assembly that can be easily assembled and will be effective in use.